Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-06-20
UP THE SANTA FE.
The Business Men OF Fort Worth Will
Realize ell They Anticipated When
They Put up Their Cash.
a Glimpse of the Land of MIX and Honey
2 Travsrsed by the Road Between Gaines
VILE and Purcell.

:
.stPurcen," called out commercial
tourist as Ticket Agent Lusk raised the
window at the Union depot at 1 ;45 last
Thursday morning. Purcell" said an
other and another until ten or g dozen tick
cts had been disposed Of. AS many more
were sold to PauI's Valley, and few
each TO ArdmOre, Washita and Wyne-
wood, and other points in the Indian
Territory. \ goodly number secured
transportation to Sanger, Valley View,
and Gainesville, and with the through
passengers added the nOrth-bOu1d
Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe pulled
cut at 5:l5 with about seventy or eighty
people on board. The argument used by
Fort WOrth's business men 10 raise the
bonus necessary TO secure the extension
Of this line north was that it would afford
another outlet to the north and east, and
guarantee the future greatness Of their
city. 1t has done more. II made GER
tain the long sought connection with the
St. Louis, Arkansas and Texas, aud has
FASTENED the extension of that line from
| Greenville via Commerce, Plano and
Grapevine fourteen miles north of Dallas,
and it is & good road.
1t has been said of q regiment of North
Carolina volunteers who styled them
selves the "Yaller Dogs" during the
late war, that when asked singly or in
pairs, individually or collectively, to
what regiment they belonged invariably
replied, "The North Carolina Taller
Dogs, and damn good regiment it is. >"
Employees of the Gulf, Colorado and
Santa Fe not infrequently make use
of the same vigorous English
when questioned as to what road they are
with, and the facts in the case 90 far TO
Justify their statement. The old line
from Fort Worth TO Galveston is known
and appreciated by the travelling public,
and the new extension from Fort Worth
to Purcell, 10 miles north, will not
suffer whit by comparison. The road
bed is perfect, the ties are of best post
oak, and on these are laid Bessemer
steel rails from one end
OF the line to the other. The road is be
| ing ballasted with crushed stone as fast
as full corps of men can do the work,
and iron bridges are taking the place of
wooden work, over which the trains were
started. The running time over this road,
though new, is fully up to the Texas
standard, and the Conveniences and &C
commodatiOns afforded passengers are
not surpassed on any line in the south.
! At Blum, Sanger, Valley View and
| Gainesville stops were made for more
| people 20 "get on and off," snd at $40
| the tram crossed Red river into the
| Indian Territory. Ardmore, thirty-tWo
miles north of the river, is the first town
worthy the name, and promises in the
| future to become a trading point and
cattle shipping station Of some respecta-
! bility. substantial depot has already
| been erected, TELEGRAM and express offices
established, and the business at this town
| is daily increasing. The stock pens st
| this place will accommodate forty or fifty
cars Of CATTLE and the shipping has been
heavy since the officials OF the road first
announced ready for business. In tents
and dug-outs the commercial business at
the place is transacted, and a pOstOfiCe
will soon be added to the list of conven-
fences Thirteen miles north of Ardmore
is the first crossing on the Wsshita river
(the road crossing the river at two other
points before reaching PurcelD,
and the scenery is equal to
the famous canyons of the Yosemite
valley. Through g deep cut the road
runs down to the crossing Snd trails
around the waters edge for two miles or
more up the river. The rivers bed at
this place is 8 simple canyon and its
rough and rugged sides tower hundreds
of feet above the running water. These
seem almost of solid rock and are covered
with Just enough moss, wild grasses,
gnarled and stunted Cedars to add wierd-
ness TO the grandeur of its appearance.
few miles beyond this crossing
the road enters the great valley of the
Washits, and for ninety miles trayerses a
territory as rich and productive as ever
blessed the efforts of the man with the
hoe. This valley has been the feeding
ground for Corned cattle for several years
past and shows what may be accomplished
in this line when the thousands of acres
now lying idle answer back with bOunti-
full harvests to the tillers Of the soil.
PauPs Valley is the next station of
importance after leaving Ardmore,
though Wynewood, Washita and some
others with their surroundings will be
given in future letter. Paul's Valley
is a station, it is the name of 8 postoffice
at that place, and it is also the name by
which the surrounding territory for six
or eight miles is designated. 1t is in the
very heart of the cultivated portion of
the Washita valley, and if there can be
any choice in the selection of 8 home in
this valley it could be said of Smith Paul
hat he acted wisely when he drove down
stake and furrowed off his
first claim of mile square in 1862.
When quite young man Paul left his
native home IN North Carolina and came
west with party OF Chickasaws and
Choctsws, and together they settled,
first lower down on Red river. few
years later war was declared between the
states, and when Fort Arbuckle was es-
tablished by the COME derste government
in 1862, Paul, who had 8 short time pre-
vious married an Indian girl, moved up
into the valley and fled his claim 10 |
q homestead sixteen miles north |
of the new fort, and commenced the |
business of stock Rising and farming. !
His possessions were extended from time |
to time by farroWing of additional terrific |
ryiuntil mileslinStead of acres were recog- |
nIzed as his property. His Indian wife |
lived but few years, though two chill |
dren were born to bless their union, and I
one Of these, Sam Paul, is now the pos
SCISSOR OF the Paul's Valley property. |
Sam Paul is an educated gentle |
man, q clear. headed business man,